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Uyghur News.com is a news article collection website on Uighur people from East Turkistan (Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, China) and Tibetan People from Tibet. Uighurs are known as Muslim Uighurs, Chinese Muslims or Uighur Muslims in western countries and/or medias. however Uyghurs` land name is Eastern Turkestan. UyghurNews.com designed for trying to keep all media releases about Uyghur People in one place and help researchers on Uyghur people or East Turkistan and Tibet. Right now Uyghur News.com databases` have 55082 articles and still growing.

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Uyghur People will remember the massacre

in Urumqi July 5th, 2009 for ever!

Some videos on Urumqi Uighur riots by Uyghur Canadian Society

Genocide in East Turkistan part 1

Genocide in East Turkistan part 2

Palau and Bermuda Islands Uighur Welcome Song.

Uyghur News / Uyghur American Association

» Uyghur leader back in Australia - 08-October-2011
ABC Meff Waters reported this story on Friday, October 7, 2011 18:34:00 MARK COLVIN: One of the world's best known freedom activists has warned Australia that Malaysia has a record of sending refugees back to China. Rebiya Kadeer is the exiled president of the World Uyghur Congress, and is herself a former Chinese political prisoner. Last time she came to this country it resulted in protests from Chinese officials; this time she's slipped in quietly for a human rights conference in Brisbane. Rebiya Kadeer made a full-time job of fighting for the ethnic Uyghur population in north-western China. She says the so-called Malaysia solution is that very risky because of that country's track record with deporting her countrymen back to China. Jeff Waters reports from Brisbane. JEFF WATERS: When Uyghur leader, Rebiya Kadeer, last visited Australia in 2009 it caused a bit rift with China. Beijing cancelled a visit by a vice minister of foreign affairs and issued complaints against this country

Uyghur News / Uyghur Human Rights Project

» Uyghur leader back in Australia - 08-October-2011
ABCMeff Waters reported this story on Friday, October 7, 2011 18:34:00MARK COLVIN: One of the world's best known freedom activists has warned Australia that Malaysia has a record of sending refugees back to China.Rebiya Kadeer is the exiled president of the World Uyghur Congress, and is herself a former Chinese political prisoner.Last time she came to this country it resulted in protests from Chinese officials; this time she's slipped in quietly for a human rights conference in Brisbane.Rebiya Kadeer made a full-time job of fighting for the ethnic Uyghur population in north-western China. She says the so-called Malaysia solution is that very risky because of that country's track record with deporting her countrymen back to China.Jeff Waters reports from Brisbane.JEFF WATERS: When Uyghur leader, Rebiya Kadeer, last visited Australia in 2009 it caused a bit rift with China.Beijing cancelled a visit by a vice minister of foreign affairs and issued complaints against this country granting

Uyghur News / World Tibet News

» South African Friends of Tibet are not surprised by the failure of the SA Govt to timeously issue a visa to the Dalai Lama... - 08-October-2011
South African Friends of Tibet are not surprised by the failure of the SA Govt to timeously issue a visa to the Dalai Lama October 08, 2011 PRESS RELEASE SA FRIENDS OF TIBET STATEMENT ON THE FAILURE OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN GOVT TO ISSUE A VISA TO THE DALAI LAMA. 4 September 2011 The South African Friends of Tibet are not surprised by the failure of the SA Govt to timeously issue a visa to the Dalai Lama. We, like most South African citizens, hold the view that the SA Govt has stalled and prevaricated over this matter under pressure from the Govt of the PRC. We remind all interested parties that the Foreign Ministry of the PRC issued directives in March 2009 to the effect that the Dalai Lama should not be allowed to visit countries with special ties to the PRC. We await a clear statement from the SA Govt as to its reasons for deliberately delaying the processing of the visa. The South African electorate has a right to straightforward answers in this rega

» Dalai Lama visit blocked by South Africa to please China, says opposition... - 08-October-2011
Dalai Lama visit blocked by South Africa to please China, says opposition October 08, 2011 http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/sep/27/dalai-lama-banned-south-africa Government denies being put under pressure to stop Tibetan spiritual leader attending Desmond Tutu's 80th birthday The South African government is considering blocking the Dalai Lama from attending the 80th birthday of fellow Nobel peace laureate Desmond Tutu so as not to offend China, according to opposition politicians. Tutu has invited the Tibetan spiritual leader to give a lecture as part of his birthday celebrations in Cape Town on 8 October. Officials from the former archbishop's office started the visa application process in June, but have yet to get approval for the Dalai Lama's visit and fear it may not come. The Dalai Lama was refused entry to South Africa in 2009, a move that conflicted with the country's progressive human rights policies and was widely criticised at home. "We've sent letters, following up

» One More Monk Self Immolates In Ngaba - 08-October-2011
One More Monk Self Immolates In Ngaba October 08, 2011 TCHRD PRESS RELEASE 4 October 2011, Dharamsala Contact: Ms. Dukthen Kyi (English) / Mr. Jampel Monlam (Tibetan, Chinese) &n

» Tibetan Flag Removal Triggers Protests - 08-October-2011
Tibetan Flag Removal Triggers Protests October 08, 2011 http://www.rfa.org/english/news/tibet/protests-10022011004611.html 2011-10-02 Renewed tensions after self immolation by monks. AFP A Tibetan in-exile shouts anti-China slogans at a protest march in New Delhi on Sept. 30, 2011 following the self-immolation of two Tibetan monks. Protests flared in a Tibetan area in China's southwestern Sichuan province at the weekend after a photo of the Dalai Lama and a huge Tibetan flag were removed from a building and thrown in the street, eyewitnesses said. The dozens of protesters in the Serthar (Seda in Chinese) county city in the Ganzi Tibet Autonomous Prefecture also called for the return of the Dalai Lama from exile and demanded freedom for Tibet. Police tried to intervene but withdrew as the crowd swelled, according to Sertha Tsultrim Woeser, a native of Serthar and a member of the Tibetan parliament-in-exile based in India's Dharamsala hill town. "The detail identification of

» MPs to meet new Tibetan Prime Minister in exile, Dr Lobsang Sangay in Dharamsala... - 08-October-2011
MPs to meet new Tibetan Prime Minister in exile, Dr Lobsang Sangay in Dharamsala October 08, 2011 TIBET SOCIETY PRESS ADVISORY MPs to meet new Tibetan Prime Minister in exile, Dr Lobsang Sangay in Dharamsala Five British MPs participating in exchange visit to Tibetan exiled parliament [London, 30 September 2011] As part of an ongoing parliamentary exchange programme, Tibet Society will be facilitating a visit of five UK MPs to the Parliament of the Tibetan government in exile based in Dharamsala, northern India. The MPs will be in Dharamsala between Monday 3 and Friday 7 October and, whilst there, the delegation will meet the recently inaugurated Kalon Tripa (Prime Minister) Dr Lobsang Sangay, Ministers of the exiled government as well as representatives and officials. An audience with the Dalai Lama is scheduled for Tuesday 4 October. The programme will also include visits to the Reception Centre for newly arrived refugees, the Tibetan Transit School, the

» Dalai ruling made, but not public - 08-October-2011
Dalai ruling made, but not public October 08, 2011 A decision on whether or not to grant the Dalai Lama a visa to enter South Africa has been made, but it has not yet been made public. Oct. 3, 2011, The Citizen Online JOHANNESBURG - A decision on whether or not to grant the Dalai Lama a visa to enter South Africa has been made, but it has not yet been made public. The Department of International Relations (Dirco) yesterday said they had informed the Dalai Lama of it’s decision. However, Dirco spokesman Clayson Monyela said the media would not be informed. He conceded that the matter was of public interest as it concerned South Africa’s foreign policy on China, and Chinese-ruled Tibet. It was for this reason that his department, and not home affairs, was handling the matter. Earlier yesterday, President Jacob Zuma said he did not know whether the Dalai Lama’s South African visa would be approved. “The department of international relations and co-oper

» HIS HOLINESS THE DALAI LAMA REGRETS CALLING OFF SOUTH AFRICA VISIT... - 08-October-2011
HIS HOLINESS THE DALAI LAMA REGRETS CALLING OFF SOUTH AFRICA VISIT October 08, 2011 PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Mr. Tempa Tsering &

» Today’s fifth self-immolation in Tibet establishes unprecedented trend... - 08-October-2011
Today’s fifth self-immolation in Tibet establishes unprecedented trend October 08, 2011 3 October 2011 A young monk set himself on fire at 2pm local time today at the vegetable market in Ngaba Town (Ch. Aba), Ngaba County, Eastern Tibet, Sichuan province; it is reported that he was holding a picture of the Dalai Lama when he set fire to himself and calling for religious rights and freedom in Tibet. The monk, Kalsang, is seventeen or eighteen years old and is from Kirti monastery, Ngaba. Police put out the flames but the current well-being and whereabouts of Kalsang are unknown. Free Tibet Director Stephanie Brigden said: “It is tragic that a fifth monk has set fire to himself in Tibet this year, only a week after two young monks from the same monastery also did this (1). A growing number of Tibetans clearly feel that this is the only way that they can be heard. This is an extremely worrying and absolutely unprecedented trend that we hope will end. Pri

Uyghur News / Radio Free Asia English

» Call To End Media Censorship - 07-October-2011
Burma’s censorship czar wants press controls abolished. AFP A Burmese man reads a newspaper by the roadside in downtown Rangoon, Aug. 30, 2010. The head of Burma’s powerful state censorship body called Friday for press freedom in the country, saying his own department should be closed down as part of reforms being pursued by the new nominally civilian government. “Press censorship is non-existent in most other countries as well as among our neighbors and as it is not in harmony with democratic practices, press censorship should be abolished in the near future,” Tint Swe, director of the Press Scrutiny and Registration Department told RFA in an interview. But, he said, newspaper and other publications should accept press freedom with “responsibilities.” Tint Swe’s department, set up more than four decades ago when the military took over the country, has eased restrictions on certain media coverage since the new government of President Thein Sein took power early this year after election

» Two Tibetan Youths Self-Immolate - 07-October-2011
So far, seven Tibetans have set themselves alight this year in a desperate attempt to highlight rights abuses. AFP Tibetan monks from Kirti monastery in exile in India gather before embarking on a protest march to New Delhi calling for an end to the Kirti crisis, April 26, 2011. Two youths in a Tibetan region of southwestern Sichuan province set fire to themselves on Friday in the latest in a string of self-immolation protests against Chinese rule, sources with links to the region said.At least one of the monks is believed to have died. So far, seven Tibetans have set themselves alight this year in a bid to highlight Tibetan human rights abuses. "On Oct. 7 around 11.30 a.m. two more Tibetans burnt themselves in the streets of Ngaba county town and protested against Chinese rule," said Dharamsala-based monk Kanyak Tsering, who is in close contact with Ngaba's Kirti monastery.The monastery has seen a huge security crackdown and a number of self-immolation protests in recent months. Hundr

» Shedding Light on Political Prisoners - 07-October-2011
As the fate of Burma's political prisoners hangs in the balance, a film documenting their stories is making the rounds. AFP A family member of a prisoner waits outside the Insein prison in Rangoon, May 17, 2011. Many of Burma's political prisoners are locked up inside. The Saffron Revolution that shook Burma’s military dictatorship in 2007 resulted in a rapid jump in the number of political prisoners. Some rights groups say there are about 2,000 at present but the new nominally civilian government insists it’s much less, without citing any figure.The political prisoners come from the most respected levels of Burmese society—monks, students, teachers, doctor, lawyers, journalists, and members of parliament; as well as many women and ethnic minorities—and commonly, rights groups say, have been subjected to torture and long prison terms. Writing a political poem or song or distributing one political pamphlet can bring years at hard labor, they say. Many activists have been sentenced from

» Elite Marks Gang of Four Fall - 07-October-2011
Some call for another Cultural Revolution in a bid to wipe out corruption but their idea finds scant support. AFP Jiang Qing, wife of Mao Zedong, during the trial in Beijing of the "Gang of Four," Jan. 25, 1981. China's political elite convened unofficially this week to mark the 35th anniversary of the fall of the Gang of Four, which led to the rise of Deng Xiaoping and his economic reforms, amid calls by some for another Cultural Revolution, sources said."If we hadn't smashed the Gang of Four, none of what came later would have happened," said Wang Guixiu, referring to the political force within the ruling Party that was headed by Mao Zedong's wife Jiang Qing, Wang Hongwen, Yao Wenyuan and Zhang Chunqiao until its arrest on Oct. 6, 1976."If they had carried on with all that left-wing stuff, there would have been no progress," said Wang, a professor at the Chinese Communist Party's Central Party School."If the Gang of Four hadn't fallen, there would have been no third plenum of the 11t

Uyghur News / World Tibet News

» Chinese 'peace prize' ditched after one year - 07-October-2011
Chinese 'peace prize' ditched after one year October 07, 2011 Association calls off award for breaking regulations 2 weeks after unveiling 2011 line-up Priscilla Jiao, Updated on Sep 30, 2011 The controversial "Confucius Peace Prize", unveiled hastily last year after jailed mainland dissident Liu Xiaobo was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize amid furious protests from Beijing, has suddenly been cancelled. The award this year was scrapped for "violating relevant regulations", the organisers' parent association said in a letter posted on the Ministry of Culture website. The Chinese Local Art Association, which itself is overseen by the ministry, also said the organisers, known as the "cultural protection department", had been disbanded. The department was not authorised to stage such an event and had "severely breached regulations on social organisations", it said. It addressed the letter to the department, which had set up the prize. Separately, an in

» TWA seeks effective implementation of legal measures protecting women’s rights... - 07-October-2011
TWA seeks effective implementation of legal measures protecting women’s rights October 07, 2011 A resolution on ending ‘Violence against Women’ receives unanimous support from the members of TPIE September 30, 2011 Dharamsala: Two TWA representatives, also members of Tibetan Parliament in Exile, today tabled the dire issue of ‘Violence against Women’ in the ongoing parliament session of the Tibetan Parliament in Exile. This comprehensive report can be viewed in English http://tibetanwomen.ntdll.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/TWA-report-on-sexual-violence-against-a-Tibetan-Woman-in-Tenzinghang-2011.pdf TWA wish to sincerely thank and pay our respects to the victim of this terrible abuse, who has agreed to share her story with the world, a brave choice that TWA do not intend to waste; this case has opened our eyes to the continuing discrimination and violence faced by Tibetan women and the imperative for a clear resolution from parliame

» China's power should not make it immune to criticism over Tibet... - 07-October-2011
China's power should not make it immune to criticism over Tibet October 07, 2011 Simon Bradshaw September 29, 2011 Opinion -> Comments 59 -> You've likely not read about it, but tragic news emerged this week from remote Sichuan province that two teenage monks of a besieged Tibetan monastery had set themselves alight in a desperate last defence of their culture and heritage. Also this week, and given far more prominence in Australian media, Prime Minister Julia Gillard signalled a greater emphasis on relations with China while commissioning a White Paper on Australia in the Asian Century. While clearly there was no direct link between these two incidents, their juxtaposition highlights an uncomfortable truth for the Chinese and Australian governments alike. Such stories from Tibet have become frighteningly common and it's well understood among a majority of Australian politicians that China's "economic miracle" and unrelenting development drive has exacted a grave toll on the

» Birthday Greetings by His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Archbishop Desmond Tutu... - 07-October-2011
Birthday Greetings by His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Archbishop Desmond Tutu October 07, 2011

» Tibet's Next Incarnation - 07-October-2011
Tibet's Next Incarnation October 07, 2011 By Hannah Beech / Dharamsala He has never been to Tibet, never breathed the thin air of the high plateau, nor spun a prayer wheel in the shadow of the great Buddhist monasteries. Yet on Aug. 8, 43-year-old Lobsang Sangay was sworn in as the head of the Tibetan government-in-exile. Born in a refugee camp in India and educated in the U.S., Sangay holds no passport or nationality, only a travel certificate. He expresses homesickness for a place that exists in the foreign mind as an otherworldly haven, and in the Tibetan one as an occupied homeland. "Like all of us in exile, I will never be completely at peace until I go to Tibet," he says when we meet in Dharamsala, a scruffy settlement in the Himalayan foothills of India where the Tibetan refugee community coalesced five decades ago. "The question is: How do we get there?" Sangay's inauguration as Kalon Tripa, or Prime Minister, comes at a critical moment for Tibet — bo

Uyghur News / Radio Free Asia English

» Chinese Netizens Mourn Jobs - 06-October-2011
The passing of a technology visionary prompts an outpouring of emotion from China's Internet users. AFP A Chinese man places flowers beside a photo of Steve Jobs outside an Apple store in Beijing, Oct. 6, 2011. Tens of thousands of Chinese Internet users paid tribute to Apple co-founder Steve Jobs on Thursday, setting up online shrines and gathering outside the Apple store in Beijing to lay wreaths."The entrance of the Apple store in Sanlitun looks like the entrance to Jokhang temple," wrote prominent blogger Hecaitou on Twitter, apparently from the scene. He said large numbers of people had also gathered to shoot video and pictures of the store and its floral tributes to Jobs, who died at the age of 56 on Wednesday after a long battle with cancer."There aren't so many people laying flowers, but there are a lot of people taking photos and video and posting them to microblog sites," he added.On the massively popular Sina Weibo microblog service, the home page was decorated with a black

» Monks Nursing Burns At Hospitals - 06-October-2011
One Tibetan monk has a serious head injury from beatings by security forces. AFP Exiled Tibetan monks take part in a candle-light vigil in Dharamsala, India on April 22, 2011 to protest a Chinese crackdown on the Kirti monastery in Sichuan province. Three Tibetan monks nursing burns after their failed self-immolation attempts in China’s southwestern Sichuan province are recovering under tight Chinese security in hospitals, a source said Thursday. One of them, Kalsang Wangchuk, did not suffer serious burns but had a "major" head injury following beatings he received at the hands of Chinese security forces, who had quickly extinguished the flames when he set himself on fire in Ngaba town on Monday.The three monks were from Kirti monastery in Ngaba (in Chinese, Aba) prefecture and their suicide attempts led to a security crackdown on the monastery and the removal of hundreds of monks from the institution. They were among five monks who had set themselves alight this year to protest agains

» Chen Campaigners Detained - 06-October-2011
Chinese authorities detain supporters of a rights lawyer under house arrest. RFA Screen grab of Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng from a video showing his life under house arrest. Authorities in the eastern Chinese province of Shandong on Thursday detained a group of rights campaigners who tried to visit blind activist Chen Guangcheng, as prominent dissidents spoke out in their support.The group set off on Wednesday from the eastern city of Xuzhou in an attempt to visit Chen, who has been held with his wife and small daughter at the family home in Shandong's Yinan county for more than a year since his release from prison.According to fellow activist Wang Xuezhen, police banged on the door of activist and Buddhist nun Miao Jue's Xuzhou hotel room at 1:00 a.m. on Thursday."She wouldn't open it, and then they said they'd break it down if she didn't, so she eventually opened it," said Wang. "They wanted to take her away but she wouldn't go, because everyone's stuff was there.""Then they wre

» Broader Concerns Over Chinese Dams - 06-October-2011
Burma’s decision to halt a massive China-backed dam project opens a floodgate of scrutiny and criticism on planned Chinese dams in Southeast Asia. Photo courtesy of International Rivers. A villager from an island that will likely be flooded if Cambodia's Sambor Dam is built. The Burmese government's stunning suspension of a massive Beijing-backed dam project has thrown the spotlight on China's dam building blitz in Southeast Asia and what environmental groups fear will be its adverse impacts on the region.The halting of the Myitsone Dam project on the headwaters of Burma's key Irrawaddy River also highlights the growing might of non-governmental organizations scrutinizing infrastructure development projects, even in a Burma that has just emerged from five decades of iron-fisted military rule.Risking legal action by key ally China, Burmese President Thein Sein decided last week to suspend the project, which had been assailed by green groups and opposition parties over its environmental

Uyghur News / Uyghur American Association

» Pakistan Pulls Closer to a Reluctant China - 06-October-2011
The New York Times October 6, 2011 By JANE PERLEZ ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — As relations with Washington plummeted in the aftermath of the killing of Osama bin Laden in May, Pakistan’s leaders turned to China, which is seen here as an enduring all-weather friend, an alternative to the troublesome and overbearing Americans. Over the years, Beijing has sent military assistance to Pakistan, provided crucial help in initiating Pakistan’s nuclear weapons program and cooperated closely on intelligence. Sturdy Chinese-Pakistan relations are seen as a hedge against India, a rival to both nations. In recent months Pakistani officials have gone to Beijing seeking Chinese investment in a naval base and weapons, as well as trade deals worth millions of dollars. But on closer examination, Pakistan’s ability to use China to offset its collapsing relations with the United States may be far more limited than it appears, raising the prospect that Pakistan will be left on the world&

Uyghur News / Uyghur Human Rights Project

» Pakistan Pulls Closer to a Reluctant China - 06-October-2011
The New York TimesOctober 6, 2011By JANE PERLEZISLAMABAD, Pakistan — As relations with Washington plummeted in the aftermath of the killing of Osama bin Laden in May, Pakistan’s leaders turned to China, which is seen here as an enduring all-weather friend, an alternative to the troublesome and overbearing Americans.Over the years, Beijing has sent military assistance to Pakistan, provided crucial help in initiating Pakistan’s nuclear weapons program and cooperated closely on intelligence. Sturdy Chinese-Pakistan relations are seen as a hedge against India, a rival to both nations. In recent months Pakistani officials have gone to Beijing seeking Chinese investment in a naval base and weapons, as well as trade deals worth millions of dollars.But on closer examination, Pakistan’s ability to use China to offset its collapsing relations with the United States may be far more limited than it appears, raising the prospect that Pakistan will be left on the world’

Uyghur News / Radio Free Asia English

» Power Struggle Delays Prisoner Release - 05-October-2011
The release of political prisoners is delayed due to opposition from hardliners led by former junta strongman Than Shwe. AFP Burma's junta chief Than Shwe reviews an honor guard in Naypyidaw, March 27, 2009. Burmese politics have always been a cat and mouse affair. Those in power seeking change have always had to tread lightly. And nothing has changed under the new political system. If anything, things have got worse, as the power is more diffuse than under the naked military rule of the past. But the new regime must show its true colors soon. It is no use shouting to the world that things have changed if there are no concrete changes to support that call. Of course the government’s priorities will always be different—and they will never want to be seen bowing to international pressure. But the country’s own parliament has called for the prisoners’ release, and this move has an important champion within the establishment in the speaker Thura Shwe Mann. Also, it is widely known that Aun

» Officials Block Parents' Questions - 05-October-2011
Chinese authorities duck questions on lead-poisoned children. Photo appears courtesy of concerned parents A woman from Shanghai's Pudong district holds her daughter who she says is suffering from lead poisoning. Parents in the Shanghai district of Pudong who are campaigning for an investigation into high lead levels in their children's blood tests say they are being stonewalled by local officials.Last month, the Shanghai authorities ordered a number of factories, particularly those making batteries, to close after more than 700 children were found with higher-than-normal levels of lead in their blood, official media reported.But officials have maintained that the closures are due to lead quotas, rather than any direct link to the poisoning of children, many of whom live in and around Kangqiao township in Pudong.Parents now say officials are stonewalling their attempts to get clearer answers about which companies are responsible, and have refused to meet with them in spite of repeated p

» 'Chased With Guns' on Chen Visit - 05-October-2011
Chinese authorities thwart a second attempt by supporters to visit a rights lawyer under house arrest. Gongmin Weiquan Wang (www.gmwq.org) Human rights activist Chen Guangcheng, shown in an undated photo. Rights campaigners making another attempt to visit blind Shandong activist Chen Guangcheng said some of their number went incommunicado, presumed detained, on Wednesday, with one activist reporting being chased by armed guards before losing telephone contact.The group, led by Henan-based activist Liu Shasha, set off from the eastern city of Xuzhou in an attempt to visit Chen, who has been held with his wife and small daughter at the family home in Shandong's Yinan county for more than a year since his release from prison."We used Xuzhou as our starting point," said fellow activist Miao Jue, who remained behind in the group's guest house to take care of their valuables. "There was Liu Shasha and [activists] from Shanghai, Hunan, and Zhengzhou: nine people altogether.""They are very lik

Uyghur News / Uyghur American Association

» Dalai Lama cancels South Africa Tutu trip over visa - 05-October-2011
BBC, 4 October 2011 The Dalai Lama has cancelled his trip to South Africa, where he had been invited by fellow Nobel Peace laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu. The Tibetan spiritual leader’s office said the South African government had failed to grant him a visa on time. Pretoria has maintained that it did not come under pressure from China to stop the visit. Archbishop Tutu said South Africa was “worse than the apartheid government” for failing to issue the visa. “… At least you were expecting it from the apartheid government,” he told a nationally televised news conference. The Dalai Lama had been due to take part in celebrations on Friday to mark the archbishop’s 80th birthday. The row intensified as South Africa’s Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe visited China for four days of talks last week, signing a number of bilateral trade and investment deals. He made no public mention of the visa issue while in China. It is the second time in

» Chinese Mark ?National Tragedy Day? Worldwide - 05-October-2011
The Epoch Times, 4 October 2011 By Mimi Li and Amelia Pang Officially, Oct. 1 is China’s National Day, the anniversary of the founding of communist China. But every year groups of Chinese outside China gather to mark the anniversary a different way, by commemorating Memorial Day, or National Tragedy Day to rebuff the Communist Party and its history of violence and atrocity. In Hong Kong, 800 practitioners of the Falun Gong (also known as Falun Dafa) spiritual practice marched through the streets of the Kowloon District in support of the more than 100 million who have rejected the Chinese Communist Party. The group’s Tian Guo Marching Band drew a crowd that included some mainland Chinese who were shocked to see freedom of speech on display, as such a large gathering would have been banned or brutally suppressed in China. Onlookers explained the significance of Memorial Day to them: “Today [Oct. 1] isn’t a day for celebration, it’s one of sorrow. Ever since